The first plus-size Miss Universe contestant who landed a top 20 slot opened up about her struggles with weight gain, saying she wants to inspire others to love and accept themselves.
Miss Nepal, Jane Dipika Garrett, 22, who competed in the Miss Universe 2023 pageant, opened up in an interview with Fox News Digital, saying she was pleasantly surprised how far she advanced in the competition.
She had always wanted to be a model and previously struggled with low self-esteem. The positive reception she received was a validating experience, that she had triumphed over eating disorders into being confident in her own skin.
“I really did not expect to get that much applause on the stage or that much spotlight. And I wasn’t expecting anything. I was just there to represent my country and to represent women all over the world. And that was my goal,” she said.
“I came with a humble heart … but when I won on that stage, I got the loudest applause from the whole entire audience. And that felt so good because it was like a breakthrough moment for me and for society that they see something different, that they see real size beauty.”
Some messages that come in are not as positive, and even to the level of “cruel,” she said.
“I see things like, ‘Oh, she’s a whale,’ or ‘That’s disgusting. I’m going to vomit.’ Or like, ‘She’s promoting obesity.’ ‘Why don’t you go to the gym?’ And things like that,” Ms Garrett said.
“And it’s like they don’t even know my story. They don’t even know what I’m going through.”
Ms Garrett explained that she has a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome, PCOS, which is when ovaries produce a higher amount of androgens, male sex hormones, than are usually present in women. The effects of PCOS include weight gain, menstrual irregularities, acne and excess hair growth.
“So it’s very easy for us to gain weight. Even if we just look at a piece of cake, we can gain weight,” she said. “[The haters are] just judging me from social media. And that’s their problem. I don’t let it bother me … Society can be very cruel. People can be very cruel sometimes.”
She attributed a lot of her weight gain to the hormonal issues, saying it has extended out to her mental health and self esteem.
“But I really had to get the validation for myself and learn how to have a positive mindset and to love myself despite not feeling my best self,” she said.
“It’s about being confident in your own skin and accepting who you are, where you are at. So I had to really remove all of those messages that were coming from society as well as coming from my own mind. So I had to really brainwash myself again and accept who I am and love myself.”
Ms Garrett said alongside the weight gain she experiences mood swings, fatigue and brain fog. She said infertility was also a major hallmark of the condition.
Ms Garrett said that she has learned to embrace a very strict lifestyle in order to lessen the effects of PCOS by going to the gym and maintaining a low stress level.
“I try to have a very low-stress lifestyle. I try to meditate, I do affirmations, I work on my mental health, I work, I eat healthy, I eat a pretty balanced diet. That is what works for me,” she said.
“You don’t have to do something like what a celebrity does or that a model does to be considered beautiful. I think that what’s most important for you, whatever suits you, is what is beautiful for you. And then I think that’s so important to just embrace who you are and love who you are and not try to fit into what society says is beautiful.”
In the past, Ms Garrett said she struggled with her mental health, including with eating disorders, adding she often felt like she wasn’t good enough.
Ms Garrett said that the key to being healthy is balance, and not to go to extremes.
“Some models can completely starve themselves and do like liposuction or something. And there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s their own choices, but then they could be promoting that as their beauty standards,” she said.
“And then some people that are very overweight and are very unhealthy could be promoting that and saying that they’re being body positive. But I think that there should be a balance. Body positivity for me basically stands for whatever body that you’re in. You accept it, you love yourself, you are embracing what you are, but you’re also going towards a healthy lifestyle.”
This story originally appeared on Fox News Digital and reproduced with permission